The ancient Iban
Sue and her family spent two nights with the Iban people of Sarawak, Borneo - read her amazing account of the ancient way of life they shared.
Introduction
For us, a visit to Batang Ai is one of the highlights of any visit to Sarawak, the western Malaysian state of Borneo. Sue, Riff and Josh spent two nights learning and sharing their traditional way of life.
Arriving in Batang Ai
We arrived at the Batang Ai Reservoir at around 3pm and there was a boat and two local guides waiting for us at the pier. Before we knew it our bags and ourselves were neatly loaded onto the narrow, canoe-shaped vessel and we were speeding across the reservoir in the direction of an Iban village – our home for the next two nights. We had opted to miss on a night at the Batang Ai hotel (which we passed en route and which I must say did look very inviting!) in exchange for an extra night at what we had been told was a truly magical Sarawak experience – only time would tell!
Our Hosts
We arrived at our village (which I can embarrassingly not remember the name of) and were greeted by a number of women and children – it was all smiles and they immediately rushed around Josh who immediately begun entertaining them with his gap-toothed grin. Many of the men were still out on a hunt and the women had just returned from a day at working the fields. They looked tired but happy as they chatted amongst themselves and went about sorting the various vegetables they had harvested (I’m not sure I recognised even one but I was soon to learn how they tasted). My husband, Riff, was immediately keen on getting involved and with the help of Jan, our guide, he went out to meet the returning men after their day’s hunt. It turned out that they had actually spent most of the day fishing and, aside from a rabbit, they returned to the longhouse with a brace of fish plucked directly from the reservoir that day.
What immediately caught my attention was the incredible tattoo’s that adorned the bodies of so many of the men – some were practically covered from head to foot in incredible art. Over the coming days several would be kind enough to let me study the artwork closely and a few were happy for me to take a few pictures.
Family Meal
We all freshened up and then joined a number of family’s in the communal area of the long house – it runs across the entire length of the building with everyone’s front door opening out onto it. Whilst many families cooked in their individual kitchens, it surprised me that they all then brought their food out and ate collectively, discussing the days events and, again thanks to Jan, quizzing us on our travels and lives back home (this particular Iban community had seen very few western visitors). They also answered the many questions we had for them – in Riff’s case plenty.
It wasn’t long before a bottle of rice wine arrived and the mood turned very jovial indeed, with all the men coaxing each other into taking another shot of the fire like liquid! Several of the older members of the community were real life ‘head-hunters’ which brought a terrified look to the Josh’s face making everyone laugh a great deal.
The Great Outdoors
Over the following two days we trekked through the lush forest, crossing into Indonesian at one point, visited our new friends in the fields and shared meals, jokes and stories with them. They were all incredibly hospitable and it clearly made them proud that we were so interested in their way of life. In many ways this was not a primitive existence – they all wore western style clothing (which originally surprised me), some had mobile phones and a few houses had a TV (no reception however!). However, they all lived in a very ancient Iban manner – everything was based around the community and democracy ruled – nothing got done without the community discussing it first. The elders ensured that traditions were passed down to the children and teenagers who remained in the village. In the past many had left for the city’s but always returned when not working – in fact I was told by several guides that the movement was now for young Iban people to return to their ancestral homes rather than follow a city existence)
Wa it all worth it?
We had the most incredible few days (the rest of the holiday wasn't bad either!) and would love to return. We cannot rate Jan highly enough and anyone who gets to travel with him is very lucky indeed. The Selective Asia office in the UK were excellent and created the holiday itinerary just for us - it was perfect.
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